14 FEBRUARY 1958, Page 21

Suspicious Circumstances. By Patrick Quentin. (Gollancz, 12s. 6d.) As much

high-spirited social comedy as crime story, with a superior sort of Dietrich glamour-matron whose Billie Burkc manner is deceptive; some high-class Hollywood bitches and lushes, some of them eloquenity funny; and enough style, polish and wit to serve most thriller-writers for a lifetime. Hardly a detective story of the classic kind—true clues are far to seek, and the amiable killer can be spotted a mile off—but entertainment of the most sophisticated sort, and a murder or so to make it cosy.